This qualitative study investigated the career success of three elite women
chefs in fine dining restaurants to identify the processes and conditions that enabled
them to achieve and maintain executive chef positions in this historically male-
dominated field. Each chef manifested an early passion for food. Drive, determina
tion, talent, and a strong work ethic surfaced as they secured initial culinary training.
The two who achieved three-star success were mentored by a classically-trained
American male chef. To maintain and expand their success, it was necessary for
them to create celebrity for themselves and their restaurants. The conflict created when these women attempted to balance work and family life was of such signifi
cance, that the satisfactory resolution limited their entry into two-star status,
primarily, into two groups: female chef/owners and female chefs without families.
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